Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow!  Has it really been a month since I blogged last??  Seems like yesterday!

 The kids and I went to KC about 3 weeks ago and while we were there, Michael's grandfather passed away.  He lives about an hour from my parents so the kids and I opted to stay and attend the services.  We are so glad that we did.  It was so nice to spend time with all of the family.  I am very thankful to have married in to such a warm and welcoming family.

We also have been getting ready for our foster/adoption journey!  Our first homestudy is next Wednesday, April 9!  We are very excited!

We know that God is in control of this.  And that our plans are not always His plans.  We are excited to meet the kiddos that will be staying with us!

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to those of you that have donated to us!  We have received clothes, beds, a carseat, a highchair, money, and more clothes.  Thank you so much!!

I will ask that you all pray for a few things specifically:

- There is a sibling group that has touched our hearts.  Our caseworker is inquiring about them.  They live in a different state.  They are older than what we "planned" for and there are more of them than we "planned" for.  But we would love for them to live with us.

- The kids that will be in our homes.  And their families.  That all would let Jesus take a hold of them. 

- Our family/kids.  It will be an adjustment.  We are not blind to the fact that it will be challenging.  But God is bigger than any struggles or roadblocks we might encounter.  Please pray that we will constantly remember this.

Thankful.  Blessed.

Rest

I started attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) last week.  Our county is starting an evening satellite course.  The curriculum this year is Matthew.  We started in Matthew 18 because we started in February instead August like everyone else.

BSF goes through a book of the bible each year with in depth teaching.  BSF has an amazing childcare program.  The kids have an amazing curriculum.  They are learning about Jesus too!  BSF is free.  You can't beat that!  

 If you are interested in learning more about BSF, click HERE.  Or if you have any questions, contact me at amypeachnelson@gmail.com.  If I do not know the answer, I will find someone who does.  :)

 

It's amazing how God give us exactly what we need right when we need it.

Many things stood out to me in our lesson this week.  But the one that stuck with me the most is:

Is His Word on my heart?   When I go through valleys, I want the first thing I think of to be Jesus.

Time on the mountain equips us for the valley.  The more I spend in God's word, the more likely I will be to rest in His arms when hard times come.

A dear friend had a hard week last week. 

This is how she responded: http://sitwithusblog.com/saturdayspotlight-2/ 

In hard times, she can rest in Jesus' arms because she knows Jesus.  She spends time with him on the mountain.  Does that mean that we don't ever get angry?  Sad?  Lonely?  Depressed?  Absolutely not.  What it means is that Jesus is there to comfort us.  Always.  

I would highly recommend sitwithusblog.com.  Four ladies got together and started a blog.  Most importantly, they love Jesus.  They talk about all kinds of things: fashion, travel, food, personal stories, etc..   It's a great daily read! 

Today I am reminded by Joanna that "God is here.  I don't have to worry or freak out because he always knows what I need.  God knows his children so well".  

Today I am thankful.  Today I am blessed.  

Fun day!! (and a proud mama!)

M was out of town this week and he got home yesterday.  He was so kind to allow me to rest while he hung out with the kids.  I am very thankful for him.  He regularly puts my needs before his.  Jesus knew what he was doing when he introduced us.  :)

We had a great time in school today!   See for yourself!!

 Before we could do school, E had to give all of the animals a check up.  Makes sense. 

 Lion!! 

 The Jesus Storybook DVDs are great!  E loves watching the stories each week and is great at remembering little details!

 Letter z practice!

E's favorite part!  We made a zoo!!  She asked if we could keep it up for 10 years.  Sure, E.  We can.  :)

And my favorite part:

We have been reading the BOB books that I told you about HERE.

Evie has learned how to sound out words, but has struggled with blending them together to make the word.  (I mean, she's 3.  I am not pushing this at all.  Sometimes we try it to see if she can do it).  

Here she is sounding out and reading her very first word!  Proud mama!

Thankful.  Blessed.

How can YOU help?

We have been blessed with so many wonderful friends and family.  So many of you have asked what you can do to help us on this journey.  We are very thankful for each one of you.  

I will answer this question in two parts.  

Part 1: More about our journey:

We have submitted our application and are waiting to be contacted about our classes.  In the mean time, we are getting everything ready at home.  We are getting licensed for 2 children 12 months or younger.  Any gender.  Any race.  We could get as sibling group or 2 kids from different families.  

There are 3 different scenarios in this process:

1.  A child (or children) are placed in our home as a foster placement.  They will remain in our home until their birth parent does what the state requires of them and they get custody of their child again.  This could be a short time (a few weeks) or long term (over a year). 

2.  A child (or children) are placed in our home as a foster placement.  The birth parents lose rights and the child remains in our home and is adopted.  

3.  A child (or children) are placed in our home directly for the purpose of adoption.  

Whether the children are in our home for a short time or forever, there are needs that we will have throughout the process.

Part 2: How you can help:

1.  Pray!!  

 Most importantly, please be praying for us, the kids, future kids, and their parents/families throughout this journey.  These kids will be coming to our home under circumstances that are less than ideal.  Before you do anything, please pray.  This is the most important thing.   If you are unable to donate in any other way, that is ok.  Please just pray.  

2. Monetary Donations:

We will get very little notice (possibly less than an hour) when a child is placed in our home.  Until that moment, we will not know the age, gender, race, or any other details about the child(ren).  

We are trying our best to be as prepared as possible (preparing a space for the child, carseats, clothes, diapers, etc...) but the bulk of what they need will be purchased after they arrive.  

If you would like to help by donating monetarily, you can click the "donate" button at the top left column of this blog.  

3.  Reasons for donating:

• We are going to be certified for 2 kids.  We will need to have duplicates of certain items before we can be licensed.  (cribs, car seats, etc...)  

• Your donations will help greatly in helping us meet requirements so that we can be licensed.  

All that to say, our expenses will come in two phases: preparation and when the children arrive.  If you feel led to donate to our fostering/adoption fund, thank you.

Please pray first.  And if that is all you feel called to do, that is everything!  

 

Thankful.  Blessed.

Getting Ready

We have been trying to get our home ready for new kids.  A few weeks ago we moved G into E's room.  It's been going pretty well!  The first few days, they both were waking up pretty early, but they have both started waking up at around 8:00.  It's been so nice.

We can get our home ready.  We can buy cribs and carseats.  We can clean and safety proof the things that aren't already safety proofed.  We can attend the classes.  We can have our homestudies.  But even if we do those things, are we really prepared?  Not without Jesus.

There are days that I think I am emotionally ready for this challenge.  And days when I am terrified.  There is a strong chance that within the next 18 months, we will have 4 kids ages 4 and younger.  It will be different.  But it will be good.  Because Jesus is good.  And Jesus is the center of this.

My prayer is that Jesus will prepare me emotionally for this journey.

He will.  He already has.

Thankful.  Blessed.

Here are a few pictures from school yesterday and today:

 We have been working on this apple tree all week.  The trunk is her foot, the leaves are her hands, and the apples are her finger prints.  :)

 Dot markers! 

 She is really starting to be able to follow the directions on the card and build her letters!

 Tuesday we stamped apples with paint.  I drew stems on them and cut them out.  We used them today to make patterns.  It's so fun to watch her progress in her learning!

 She put the ABCs in order.  There are so many fun games we can do with these bean bags!

 Writing the letter A

 We read the story.  As I read, if she saw an A, she would use her yellow dot marker to put a dot on it. 

Apple seed counting and number matching. 

Thankful.  Blessed.

Join me please

Last night in our church community group (http://crosspointepeachtreecity.com/), when sharing prayer needs I had an overwhelming desire for something very specific.

Last week, I shared that we are entering the fostering and adoption world. (click HERE to see that post). We are very excited about this.  I have asked many people for prayer for specific things.  Our family, our kids, the kids that God will be placing in our homes.  I neglected to mentioned a HUGE one.  Last night I felt an overwhelming urge to pray for the birth moms of the kids that will enter our home, whether for a short time or permanently.  These moms are broken, like I am.  These moms need Jesus, like I do.  Their circumstances will not allow them to continue parenting for a short time or forever.  They will have to say goodbye to their precious babies either temporarily or for a very long time, maybe forever. 

I cannot even begin to imagine saying goodbye to E and G.  Even for a short time.  It breaks my heart to think about it.

Please pray for these mamas.  Pray that Jesus will grab a hold of them and comfort them.  Pray that they will come to know Jesus and that they accept the grace that Jesus has for them.  My heart is heavy for these moms.   Please join me in praying for them.

As I sit here watching my sweet girl doing her "lessons" on the computer, I am thankful. 

 E loves doing her "lessons" (as she calls them).  We subscribe to ABCmouse.com.  It is fantastic.  This program taught her in 20 minutes how to properly use a mouse.  I was amazed!  It is not very costly and such a great program for kids!

 

 Today was our math day.  We did other things, but math was our focus.  E drew gumballs in the machines and we made a book!

 If you are homeschooling, save all of your egg cartons!  Ask your family to save them too!  We use them for so many activities.  Addition!

 See??  Egg cartons!  Counting!

 

We finished days 5 and 6 today in our book.  We are excited to put it all together tomorrow!

Thankful.  Blessed.

This is who I am

Why is it that it's so easy to pretend everything is great.  That everything is perfect.  That we have it all together.  Why do I feel embarrassed to admit to those closest to me that I struggle.  That I fail.  That I am weary at times.  Why do we want our homes to be spotless when people come over?  Why do we try to hide who we really are?

I do not have it all together.  I fail daily.  My house has dust along the baseboards and laundry piled up.  When it looks like my house is all together, it's because my closet is full of junk.

There are times when my house is clean.  And there are times when dinner is hot and ready when my husband gets home.  There are also times when I am patient with my kids during the day.

In both of those scenarios, I need Jesus.  

E and G started sharing a room a few nights ago so that we are able to prepare for foster children.  We want them to get used to sharing a room.  For the most part, it's been great.  Except that they wake up 2 hours earlier than normal.

I immediately found myself blaming them this morning.  I woke up grumpy and unfortunately took it out on my kids.  Not their fault.   They didn't ask me to stay up late last night.  They didn't wake each other up on purpose.

We went downstairs to make breakfast and normally put on a show. This morning I decided that we should listen to music.  I have a playlist that consists of songs just about how much I need Jesus.  And this morning, I did.  All mornings I do.

Lord, please continue to remind me that you love me when I fail.  You love me when I am grumpy.  Help me to have patience with my kiddos.

I need thee.  O I need thee.  Every hour (minute, second) I need thee.

Once we finished breakfast, thankfully the mood was lifted.  Jesus laid a blanket of peace over our home this morning.  We started and finished school and it went smoothly.

We continued to talk about creation today.  I have known since I was a small child that God created everything.  But as a 33 year old teaching my daughter the same thing, I find myself overcome with emotion.  God created everything. Everything!  Me!  I am a daughter of the King!

Here are a few pictures of our day:

 E is so excited to see our seeds grow into flowers!  We have to wait 5 days!  I'm not sure she can.  :)

 Practicing cutting!  One of her favorite things to do. 

 

 I made E a patterns game out of Doc McStuffins characters.  I just printed them out and laminated them.  She loves it!  

We added days 3 and 4 to our book today.  She keeps asking if we can put our book together.  Just a few more days, sweet girl!

Thankful.  Blessed.

Back to School!

Last week was a loooong week.  We work better with routine.  Back to it!  :)  E was very excited for school today.

This week our theme is creation.

Today:

 We are talking about gardening.  We are looking at 3 different types of flower seeds and we are going to watch them grow.  (more on that later...)

E got this Letter Construction Activity Set for Christmas.  She loves it!  And it really helps her with the construction of her letters!

 To say that E likes the movie Frozen is an understatement.  She LOVES it.  She asks daily if we can go back to the "movie feater" to see it.  :)  We are working on positional words and this has been a perfect way for her to show me!  I printed this out and had it laminated.  I just say, "E, can you put Olaf's head (to the right) or (to the left) or (behind)...etc.. his body"?  She loves it! 

 Patterns!  AB patterns and ABC patterns.  I mentioned this in a previous post, but Confessions of a Homeschooler has great resources for learning a lot of preschool/K4 skills!  (Plus other stuff for older kids!) I just print out weekly what we are going to be working on that week.  

Finally, we are making a creation book this week.  Today we did day 1 (night/day) and day 2 (sky/sea).  E seems to really enjoy doing this!  I am really looking forward to the final project at the end of the week!

I hope you enjoyed a glance into our homeschool day!  :)

Thankful.  Blessed.

New Adventure for our Family!

For several years, Michael and I have both felt called to adopt.  Over the past few years we have talked with families that adopted through private agencies, from another country, and through the state of Georgia (DFCS). 

After much prayer, we both feel a peace about pursuing adoption through the state of Georgia.  We understand that DFCS is not an adoption agency.  We will actually be in the foster-to-adopt program. 

This simply means that we will be able to provide a safe and loving home for a child until they are reunited with their birth family or until they are in need of a permanent placement through adoption. 

If asked several years ago if I would feel comfortable having a child in my home for a time, bonding with them, and then having to say goodbye, my answer would have been an absolute no. 

Through conversations with friends and a deeper understanding of Christ's love for us, I have started to understand that while selfishly, I would not want to say goodbye, providing a child with a loving home for a short time that teaches them about Jesus is better than that child possibly not being in a home that loves Jesus at all.  (Run on sentence, much?). Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has softened my heart over the past few years.

Last night was our first meeting and we are very excited to start on this journey.  It will not be easy every step of the way.  We understand that.  There will likely be very trying times.  We are ok with that. 

Please pray for us on this journey.  Pray for E and G.  Please pray for the sweet children that will be placed in our home, whether adopted or not.  These sweet babies that will call me mama will likely not start out in my home and will not grow in my tummy.  I will not have control over the protection of these babies.  Thankfully, Jesus does have that control.  Please pray that God would protect their bodies from all of the things that the world might throw at them. 

Thank you, friends.  We will update as we progress in this journey.  We will share what we can.  :) 

Thankful.  Blessed. 

Sickness in our home

Having sick kids is exhausting.  Especially when they have different things and you have to keep your sweet 3 year old from kissing your kissable 7 month old.

E has pink eye and an ear infection.  She woke up with her eyes sealed shut.  I have to put drops in there 4 times a day.  That is definitely a challenge.

G has a cold.  Poor baby boy.  :(  Thankfully, none of us have gotten pink eye from sister.  I hope we're past the contagious period!

Parenting is challenging.  Yes.  Thankfully I have Jesus.  Without Jesus, I don't know how I would manage.  I couldn't.  There are days when I forget that I have Jesus!  What ugly days those are. 

I feel a strong desire to pray for the mamas out there that don't love Jesus.  Jesus, please reveal yourself to them.

I am looking forward to resuming school next week!  I know E is too!

Thankful.  Blessed. 

One of those days...

 Matthew 11:28:  "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I am His.

Occasionally E cries out at night for various reasons.  She is half asleep and difficult to console.  Unless I sleep with her the rest of the night.  (I fully realize that this may be a form of manipulation, but seeing as she just wants to be close to her mama, I'll take it).

She is so sweet and just wants to snuggle up and talk all night.  She wants to scratch my back and rub my face.  She wants to play with my hair and snuggle up so close that her electricity filled hair is ever so gently caressing my face.  Countless times I fall asleep and wake to a sweet little 3 year old hand resting across my cheek. 

My cup is filled during these nights.  With everything but sleep.  

I could complain, yes.  Am I tired?  Yes.  It is so easy to look at the negative.  It is so easy to focus on my own selfish needs.

But why?  What is the point?  What does that accomplish?

Instead, I will focus on this: I have a 3 year old that loves her mommy so much.  Even when I fail.  She loves me.  Even when I yell.  She loves me.  Even when I choose myself over her.  She loves me.

Through my precious 3 year old, I am reminded of how Jesus loves me.

In the Jesus Storybook Bible (have I mentioned how amazing this Bible is?), it says this:

"You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children - with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.  And though they would forget him, and run from him, deep in their hearts, God's children would miss him and always long for him - lost children yearning for their home."

You see, I run from him.  It's in my nature.  But he scoops me back up and reminds me that I am His. 

You, friends, are His too.

Matthew 11:28:  "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I pray that I will rest in his arms instead of fighting to get away.
Thankful.  Blessed.

Scripture Memorization

One of my strengths is definitely not memorization of anything...let alone scripture.  It usually takes me two or three reads of a book to fully retain what it is saying.

I was reading Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience, and one of her blog entries was about scripture memorization.

She included scripture cards to put up around your home to encourage the memorization of scripture.

Here is the link to that blog post -click HERE. 

This is something that I want to try this year.  I want to have the words of God written on my heart.  In times of despair, frustration, etc..., I want the first thing that comes into my mind to be God's encouraging words.

There are 25 cards.  I chose to have mine laminated!  Very excited to start memorizing!

Day 4 of Evie's homeschool was today.  I admit, sweet G was up in the night with teething and when 6:30 came, so did my snooze.  E woke up before me and came in fully dressed (minus a shirt...she can't reach them in the closet).  She asked if it was time for school.  :)  

This week's letter is X.  She has been doing a lot of fun projects with the letter X.  Today she used her Dot Markers.  She loves them.  I would highly recommend them!  

I got this cute page from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  She has a letter of the week curriculum for just $15.00.  There are TONS of activities for each letter!  We choose to use it as a supplement to our current curriculum because to follow it directly would be a TON of printing and laminating.  It ends up being more than we wanted to spend.  But, I would highly recommend it.  The content is great!  She also has lots of other curriculum in her shop.  We purchased them all when they were about 1/2 off on Cyber Monday.  Perfect for when the kids are a little older.  :)

Friday is our reading day.  Our curriculum is a 4 day/week curriculum.  Rather than completely losing the structure on Fridays, we are going to snuggle up in our big comfy chair and read.  I am really looking forward to it!

Thankful.  Blessed.

Desperate

"We live in a fallen world that is in rebellion to God and His holiness.  That means my children are self-centered, immature, and demanding; my husband has flaws and is vulnerable to his own weaknesses, temptations, and selfishness; and he is married to a woman whose focus is on herself, her own needs, dreams, and desires.  This reality presupposes that a home and family naturally move towards chaos". 

But there is GREAT news!!

John 16:33 says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world". 

This book, by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Mae has rocked my world.  On every page, I feel that the authors are speaking directly to me and know my situation.  But the truth is, we all have times of tribulation, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and the list goes on.. The ONLY hope we have is in Jesus.  

 Our new routine consists of me waking at 6:30.  This has been such a nice time for me to get ready, read my bible, and read some of my book.  Waking 2 hours before my kids has never been something I thought I would want to do, but it has really allowed me to gather my thoughts and get my focus on Jesus before my children wake.  Once they are up, we have breakfast and then start school.  By the time we are done with school, Brother is napping and Ev gets to have a snack and watch a show.  What a lovely time for me to blog and get my thoughts down for the day.

Thankful.  Blessed.

Not about me!

Part of the reason that we chose God's Little Explorers as our curriculum is that it follows the goes through the bible chronologically throughout the year.  It follows the Read and Learn Bible and the Jesus Storybook Bible.

We have been reading the Jesus Storybook Bible since Evie was a baby.  We love it.  We have recommended it to anyone we know that is having a baby or has kids.  Evie loves it.  And the best part is that EVERY story points to Jesus!  Every one!

"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do.  The Bible certainly does have some rules in it.  They show you how life works best.  But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing.  It's about God and what he has done."

I would highly recommend the Jesus Storybook Bible to anyone.  Adults and children!  

Evie had a great time in school today.  We had to do some adjusting from yesterday.  Things that were too easy and things that we are saving for when she turns 4.  She enjoyed going on a hunt for rectangles today and making her own!

Thankful.  Blessed.

I Need Thee

I woke up this morning and was listening to music as I got ready.



Beautiful.  I do need Jesus.  Daily.  Hourly.

The past year and a half has brought on a lot!

Mostly importantly, we welcomed sweet George into the family on May 26.  (Two months before Prince George.....so, to answer your question...no, we did not name our son after the prince).  You would be surprised how often I get that question.  :)

He is now 7 months and has such a sweet disposition.  Always smiling.  Always talking.  Sleeps all night.  Growing like a weed.  Thankful.  Blessed.


Ev is almost 3.5.  They said time would fly... It did.  She is so smart.  Loves her family.  Loves Jesus.  Thankful.  Blessed.

My husband and I have had many conversations over the past year about homeschooling.  Yes?  No?  We have been going back and forth.  So, we decided to do a trial year.  We are schooling E now for about 45 minutes each morning.  In the fall when she is 4, we will do a couple of hours a day.  She is definitely ready.  She loves it!  Today was her first day.  I am so excited to see my sweet girl learn so many things.  But mostly, I am excited to see her learn about Jesus.  Thankful that we are called to be a part of that.  :)  We'll continue homeschooling as long as we feel a peace about it.  I hope that is forever.  Thankful.  Blessed.

Here are a few photos of day 1.

Our classroom:

 Our curriculum:

We are using God's Little Explorers this semester.  We love it!  If you have any questions about it, feel free to comment below!  :)

We have also added a few supplemental activities (calendar and extra letter of the week activities).

If you are interested in checking it out - http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/kids/gods-little-explorer-preschool-curriculum/

Our school day:

 Sister was telling Brother about our Bible story.  :)

 This is our daily notebook that we do with our calendar time.  We got this from: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/

This is our "Letter X Lapbook."  We got these printables free online.  She'll have a different file folder for each letter to go back and look at.  

Thankful.  Blessed.